Article 068

Ardra is sixth among 27 nakshatras. All four quarters of this nakshatra fall in Gemini. The literal meaning of Ardra is ‘moist’ and another close meaning of Ardra is ‘fresh’. The main symbols assigned to Ardra are a teardrop and a diamond.

A teardrop may look like a mere drop of water but this is not so in reality. A teardrop represents the peak or culmination of an emotion where such emotion may be positive or negative. It means tears come out of our eyes when we are under extreme pain, trauma and other such troublesome emotions or they roll out when we are extremely happy. In both cases, the emotional state has reached its peak and that is when a teardrop is formed.

Looking at a diamond, it is also formed in the same way; which means it is the culmination point of carbon atoms which undergo intense heat and pressure, within the crust of earth. Therefore, both these symbols may look different and they are different in certain senses. However, they are same in the sense that both of them represent the peak or culmination of some processes or emotions.

Hence Ardra renders traits like hard work, patience, strength, determination and intensity to the people under its strong influence. It means Ardra people may have to work hard and be strong as well as patient; in order to reach peaks in their lives; just like diamond. For this reason; Ardra people are often seen achieving much more success during second halves of their lives; compared to the first halves.

For example, if benefic Moon is placed in the tenth house of a horoscope in Gemini in Ardra, the native may achieve more and more professional success with age. Such native may be hard working, strong and he may work continuously to improve himself in his field of profession, when supported by his overall horoscope. As a result, he may become better and better as a professional and such betterment may bring him more and more success.

Ardra people generally don’t depend much on luck and they may believe in making their own destinies through their efforts. For this reason, such people may reject their family professions or other such offers where they are supposed to run already established businesses or professions. Instead, an Ardra native may choose to start something of his own, build it up gradually, learn a lot during the process and then achieve success which is well deserved, according to him.

Since these people may not be that much dependent on luck and they may be true believers in hard work, Ardra may have significant impact on some of the greatest people in history. This is because a man is called great, not if he achieves success by luck but if he works hard and he keeps fighting or moving even when luck or wind is blowing against him. Hence Ardra may produce warriors in many walks of life and these warriors may win their wars through their own courage, hard work and determination, rather than depending on luck.

A teardrop also represents the process of removing emotions which have become too much for us to handle, so that some type of balance may be restored. For instance, when you are in extreme emotional pain, the act of crying and shedding teardrops helps you relax, though such act in itself looks very troublesome or extreme. It means crying may be considered as an extreme type of act but through this act; your existence is trying to balance itself out, by getting rid of emotions which may have become too much to handle or which simply need to leave.

For this reason, the act of crying or shedding tears often happens when someone close to you dies. Through these tears, you are not only balancing your existence by getting rid of too much emotion; you are also preparing yourself for a fresh start; which means for a life without such loved one.

Therefore, the act of crying is an act of renewal and the same trait is exhibited by Ardra. Hence, Ardra people may have to undergo a number of renewals/transformations in various spheres of their lives. Though such transformations may look troublesome like the act of crying, they may end up strengthening these people in the long run.

Due to this trait, Ardra people may not get stuck at any points in their lives; no matter how important such points may be; and these people may keep moving despite setbacks. Therefore, if you are looking at a native who has transformed a lot during his lifetime and he keeps getting better and stronger with age; he is likely to be under strong influence of Ardra. This nakshatra is among the best ones in 27 nakshatras, when it comes to induce such personality transformations.

Ardra is a strong energy and people with weak horoscopes may not be able to handle it properly. Hence Ardra people need strong Sun, Mars, Jupiter and/or Saturn in their horoscopes as otherwise, they may not be able to bear the pressure applied by such transformations and they may simply shatter. Looking at these traits as well as the planets which can handle the energy of Ardra, it can be said that male people may be better suited to channelize the energy of Ardra, compared to female people.

This is because feminine planets like Moon and Venus may not be capable of handling such intense energy of Ardra on their own and they may simply give in. Female people under strong influence of Ardra and having a couple of strong masculine planets at the same time may lead lives which may look more like those of males. Hence many female people who are known for strength, aggression and determination instead of being known for beauty, charm and grace; may have strong influence of Ardra in their horoscopes, supported by two or three strong masculine planets.

Since traits like aggression, determination and hard work are generally found in good quantities in male people; they are better able to handle the energy of Ardra.

Vedic astrology assigns Rahu as the ruling planet and lord Rudra as the ruling deity of Ardra. Lord Rudra is the fierce form of lord Shiva, the destroyer among trinity. It is believed that whenever lord Shiva needs to get into the acts of destruction, he transforms into Rudra and engages in required acts of destruction. Here again, the trait of transformation is evident.

Looking at the process of destruction, it is more like the process of renewal. Just like the tears renew us, just like the transformations make us more capable of handling the future; such acts of destruction are necessary for renewal of natural elements. Looking at an example in nature, the eruption of a volcano is a troublesome and disturbing event. However, it tells that too much lava was collected in a zone and it needed to be released, like teardrops.

When such lava spreads and it solidifies, the most fertile lands are formed by it. This means such eruption of volcano helps the disturbed zone maintain its balance by throwing out excess lava and at the same time, such lava refreshes and renews the lands it falls on. Likewise, Ardra people may undergo a number of troublesome transformations in their lives; only to benefit in the long run; provided their horoscopes are strong enough to go through such transformations.

Lordship of Rudra over Ardra adds traits like being fierce yet decisive, anger, aggression, bravery, and the element of destruction. Vedic Astrology assigns Rahu as the planetary ruler of Ardra. Rahu deals with mysteries and illusions among other things. Hence it adds traits like mystery, intellect, curiosity and wander-thirst to Ardra. All quarters of Ardra fall in Gemini which is an air sign ruled by Mercury. Hence Ardra also exhibits traits like intellect, the ability to analyze as well as dissect, communication and some other traits.

Though Ardra exhibits a wide variety of traits, different people may embrace different traits, depending on placements of various planets in this nakshatra as well as on their overall horoscopes. Among navagraha; Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Mercury, Rahu and Ketu may be better able to handle the energy of Ardra whereas Moon and Venus may find it difficult to channelize the energy of Ardra in proper ways, without the support of overall horoscope.

People under strong influence of Ardra may be curious and analytical by nature. They may like to get to the root of the matter and know everything in detail. Ardra people may have the tendency to shift from one state of mind to another in a matter of seconds. Accordingly, these people may be unpredictable at times. They may burst out in anger easily and they may scare or harm other people at times. Ardra people may be brave and they may not be afraid of confrontations, arguments, disputes, fights or wars.

Here again, a planet like Mercury in Ardra may choose to engage in war of words whereas Mars or Ketu in Ardra may believe less in words and more in physical wars. A planet like Rahu may choose to engage in mysterious or illusionary ways of war whereas a planet like Saturn may choose to engage in legal type of war, when placed in Ardra. People under strong influence of Moon in Ardra may choose to engage in emotional wars whereas those under strong influence of Sun in Ardra may engage in wars of egos. People under strong influence of Venus in Ardra may engage in love wars or sexual wars whereas people under strong influence of Jupiter in this nakshatra may engage in religious wars or spiritual wars.

Taking an example, suppose Jupiter is placed in the twelfth house of a horoscope in Gemini, in Pisces navamsha of Ardra. Cancer rises in the ascendant and Jupiter rules the sixth as well as ninth house. The ninth and twelfth house represent spiritual growth among other things. Jupiter loves spiritual growth and Pisces is supportive for spiritual growth. Hence one such native may take active interest in spiritual pursuits. If the rest of his horoscope is supportive; he may engage in spiritual practices and he may achieve good or very good amount of spiritual growth.

Suppose benefic Moon is placed in the ninth house of this horoscope in Pisces, in Leo navamsha of Uttarabhadrapada nakshatra. Mercury is placed in the fifth house in Scorpio along with Sun; and Venus is placed in the sixth house in Sagittarius in Moola. Saturn is placed in the third house in Virgo and Mars is placed in the eighth house in Aquarius, in Capricorn navamsha of Shatabhisha nakshatra. In this case, the native may actively engage in spiritual field. He may spend many years on this path, he may achieve good or very good amount of spiritual growth and he may become a spiritual guru.

Considering another example; suppose Saturn is placed in the tenth house of a horoscope in Gemini in Ardra. Virgo rises in the ascendant and Saturn rules the fifth as well as sixth house. Such placement of Saturn may help the native achieve success in materialistic spheres; especially in the sphere of profession. The native may engage in a creative field, he may work in service industry or he may achieve a post of authority in government; depending on his overall horoscope.

Whichever field the native may engage in, he may achieve success over a period of time and not quickly; unless this tendency is challenged by other planets in his horoscope. The native may seem to struggle during the beginning years of his career, he may fight back and he may witness better results with time. After the age of 35, the native may gradually witness better results and after 40; he may witness even better results with every passing year. This placement of Saturn may not only bless the native with success; it may also bless him with a lot of experience and expertise related to his field of profession; by virtue of more and more practice; over a period of years.

People under the influence of Ardra may be keen to explore. Some of them may be very good observers having deep probing eyes which may try to scan people around them and find out what lies inside them. Ardra people may not pay much attention to social courtesies or formalities and they may do what they like, regardless of whether the people around them approve or not. Ardra people may not bother about public opinion and they may be independent in their approach towards life.

Ardra people can make opponents and enemies due to their argumentative nature and non-bothering attitude towards the others. However, these people may not bother changing themselves or trying to make peace with their opponents/enemies. Instead they may face their competitors and enemies with courage, bravery and hard work; winning in the end; in most cases.

Due to influence of lord Rudra on this nakshatra; Ardra people may prove very difficult enemies. They may continue to engage in battles/wars for years and years; until decisive results are achieved. In the opinion of one such native; such decisive result may be the defeat of enemy or his own death. It means Ardra people may not surrender and they may keep fighting till the end. Hence they may lose small/significant battles in a war; they may not lose the war as long as they live; since they may keep fighting. Once they are in one such situation; they may go to any lengths to eliminate the threats of their enemies or even their enemies.

Let’s look at performances of various planets in various navamshas of Ardra. Starting with Sagittarius; Mercury, Rahu and Saturn may do well here though none of them may do very well without the support of overall horoscope. This is because all these planets are not strong in Sagittarius through they are strong in Gemini and very comfortable in Ardra.

Sun, Mars, Jupiter and Ketu may perform above average here. All of them are not strong in Gemini but they are comfortable in Ardra and they are strong in Sagittarius. Venus may perform above average or well here; depending on the overall horoscope. Venus is strong in Gemini but it is not comfortable in Ardra as well as in Sagittarius. Moon may perform on average or below average here. Moon is not strong in Gemini, it is not much comfortable in Ardra and it is not strong in Sagittarius. No planet may perform very well in this navamsha. Among navagraha, Mercury may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Moon may be the weakest.

Looking at Capricorn navamsha; Mercury, Saturn and Rahu may perform well or very well here; depending on the overall horoscope. All these planets are strong in Gemini, they are comfortable in Ardra and they are strong in Capricorn. Mars may perform above average or well here. It is not strong in Gemini but it is comfortable in Ardra and it is exalted in Capricorn.

Sun and Ketu may perform on average in this navamsha. They are not strong in Gemini but they are comfortable in Ardra and they do well in Capricorn. Moon may perform on average in this navamsha; since it may do well in Capricorn. Venus may perform well here, since it is strong in Gemini as well as Capricorn, though it is not much comfortable in Ardra. Jupiter may perform below average in this navamsha since it is not strong in Gemini and it is debilitated in Capricorn. Among navagraha; Rahu may be the strongest in this navamsha, followed by Saturn and Mercury. Jupiter may be weakest in this navamsha.

Moving on to Aquarius navamsha; Mercury, Saturn and Rahu may perform well or very well here. All of them are strong in Gemini as well as Aquarius; and they’re comfortable in Ardra. Venus may perform well here since it is strong in Gemini and Aquarius, though it may not have much comfort in Ardra.

Sun and Mars may perform on average in this navamsha; since they are not strong in Gemini as well as Aquarius. Moon and Ketu may perform on average or below average here; depending on the overall horoscope. Jupiter may perform on average here; since it is not strong in Gemini as well as Aquarius but it is comfortable in Ardra. Among navagraha; Rahu may be the strongest in this navamsha, followed by Saturn and Mercury. Ketu may be the weakest here, followed by Moon.

Looking at Pisces navamsha; Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Rahu may perform well but not very well here and all of them may have different reasons. Mercury and Rahu are strong in Gemini but they are debilitated in Pisces. Saturn is strong in Gemini but it is not strong in Pisces. Venus is strong in Gemini and it is exalted in Pisces but it is not much comfortable in Ardra.

Sun and Mars may perform on average or below average here; depending on the overall horoscope. None of them is strong in Gemini as well as Pisces. Jupiter may perform above average here whereas Ketu may perform on average or above average. Ketu is weak in Gemini but it is exalted in Pisces and it is comfortable in Ardra. Moon may also perform above average here, since it is strong in Pisces. Among navagraha; no planet may be able to perform very well in this navamsha. Venus may be the strongest in this navamsha whereas Mars may be the weakest here; followed by Sun.

Looking at an example, if benefic Saturn is placed in the eighth house of a horoscope in Ardra, the native may achieve success as a doctor, scientist, astrologer; consultant, tantric or spiritual guru; depending on the rest of his horoscope. For instance, if benefic Mars is placed in the tenth house in Leo, benefic Jupiter is placed in the eighth house in Gemini with Saturn, Rahu is placed in the sixth house in Aries, Ketu is placed in the twelfth house in Libra and the rest of the horoscope is supportive, the native may become a doctor.

Looking at another probability, if benefic Saturn is placed in the eighth house of a horoscope in Gemini in Ardra, a benefic combination of exalted Sun and Mercury is placed in the sixth house in Aries, Mars is placed in the fourth house in Aquarius and benefic Jupiter is placed in the fifth house in Pisces, the native may become a spiritual guru or an astrologer, depending on the rest of his horoscope as well as on the running times (planetary periods).

 

Himanshu Shangari